Adherents.com: Religious Groups in Literature

34,420 citations from literature (mostly science fiction and fantasy) referring to real churches, religious groups, tribes, etc. [This database is for literary research only. It is not intended as a source of information about religion.]

Armenian Apostolic Church, continued...

"Loren's eyes dropped a few shelves. History of Modern Turkey. The Armenian Struggle for Statehood. Disintegration of the Soviet Empire. History of the Transcaucasian Republics 1918-1921. The Glory and Resurrection of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenian, Russian, and Turkish dictionaries and phrase books. "

"Constantine shrugged. 'Did you really believe that we could share the Empire forever? If the Armenian Christians appeal to me, I will help them, and if the Visigoths attack Thrace, I will repel them...' "

Pg. 52: "...and a T-shirt with A CONNECTICUT PANSY IN KING ARTHUR'S SHORTS lettered on it. "; Pg. 81: "'...You obviously hadn't noticed my dumb shirt before a minute ago, and Cody saw it back at the hospital; and she didn't get that it was a joke about a Mark Twain book title.'

'You should believe it, it's true. I don't think Cody's much of a reader. I am--and I love books about King Arthur, though I've never been able to read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.' She rolled her eyes. 'You're taking a whole crowd of girls to dinner!'

Cochran decided not to ask what she thought One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest had to do with King Arthur... " [More, pg. 310, 350.]

"'He's saying that he and the Ancestors, those who were rightfully members of King Arthur's Round Table and loyal to him in that last battle, were the first-comers and own this land...' " [Some other refs., not in DB.]

"...the captain of the Excalibur... " [This is the main starship of the novel, with refs. throughout. Other than the name, however, there is nothing in the novel that has anything to do with Arthurian legend.]

"The ship slowly cruised over him, and he was finally able to make out the name of the vessel as it drew near enough: U.S.S. Excalibur.... The Excalibur was the primary starship that had been assigned to Thallonian space... " [This starship, captained by Captain Calhoun, is significant in this novel. Many refs., not in DB.]

"ArthurianAdjective meaning 'related to or derived from the mythology of King Arthur,' a legendary British monarch who was renowned for his Knights of the Round Table, castle Camelot, queen Guinevere and his sword, Excalibur. "

"The planet wasn't always known as Kamalot, nor was it actually a planet, but a large meteorite of some hundreds of miles in diameter that had been trapped in orbit around Tarnaria, one of the obscure stars near the Cone Nebula. " [The chapter is titled 'Kamelot'. More, not in DB.]

"Loren could still remember the launching of Excalibur from the construction cradle at the Lagrangian point... "

Arthurian

galaxy

3000

Baldwin, Bill. The Defiance. New York: Warner Books (1996); pg. 7.

[Year estimated.] "...largely unsuccessful attack against our five Imperial capital planets--now known as the Battle of Avalon--followed by his invasion of Sodeskaya... It wasn't as if our War Cabinet in Avalon considered Atalanta unimportant... " [Many other refs. to Avalon, not in DB. Other than this tenuous connection to Arthurian legend, there is really nothing to index: no refs. to literature, film, religion, tribes, anything. This is extremely rare.]

"'Uncle Jeff, you're frightening me--you sound as if you're talking about fairy tales or elf-mounds or something.' They continued to ride, and he did not respond to her comments immediately.

'That is not a bad analogy,' Jeff said slowly as he turned his horse away from Lake Hali and they continued down the trail. 'I haven't thought of elf-mounds in a long time--I loved the stories of them when I was a young man, back on Terra. The Kerwins were of old Irelandic stock, and my adopted father's mother had a great store of tales--about Oisin and Fionn mac Cool and King Arthur, whom she insisted the British had stolen from the Irish. Called them 'shee hills.' It really takes me back.' "

Arthurian

Metropolis

1993

Stern, Roger. The Death and Life of Superman. New York: Bantam (1993); pg. 82.

"The hub of mousenet, like Xanadu or Camelot, was a place out of legend. "

Arthurian

Ontario

2002

Sawyer, Robert J. Hominids. New York: Tor (2002); pg. 61.

"...the campus paper, The Excalibur "

Arthurian

Solar System

2029

Clarke, Arthur C. The Hammer of God. New York: Bantam (1993); pg. 95.

[Chapter 18 is titled 'Excalibur', and introduces the experiment by that name.] "It was the largest scientific experiment ever made, because it embraced the entire Solar System.

EXCALIBUR's origins went back to the bizarre--indeed, now hardly believable--days of the almost forgotten 'cold war,' when two superpowers had confronted each other with nuclear weapons... " [Many other refs., not in DB.]

"The great radar pulse generator Excalibur, powered by nuclear explosions, had been out o service for almost a century. It had been designed and developed in a frantic effort during the months following the transit of Rama through the solar system. When it was first declared operational in 2132, Excalibur's announced purpose was to give Earth ample warning of any future alien visitors: one as gigantic as Rama could be detected at interstellar distances... " [Other refs. to this object, which was given an Arthurian name.]

[Book jacket] "Like the inhabitants of the mystical Avalon, readers of Lady of Avalon will feel they have been transported to another world--a world of myth, magic, romance, and history. The magnificent novel spans the creation of Avalon itself and foreshadows the birth of the legendary King Arthur. Here, we meet three remarkable holy women who steer the fortunes of Roman Britain as they struggle with their own destinies... Ana gives birth to a baby girl who will be the mother of the great King to come. But it is her beautiful and feisty oldest daughter, Viviane, who is destined for true greatness--as the famed Lady of the Lake and guardian of the Grail. " [Of course, the entire novel is based on Arthurian legend, although it the novel is primarily about events which preceded the time of King Arthur. Other refs., not in DB.]

Pg. 1: "The Merlin of Britannia sat on the Watcher's Stone at the top of the Tor... "; Pg. 2: "The Merlin's old eyes scanned the heavens, seeking to comprehend the secrets written in the stars. The sun stood now in the sign of the Virgin, the old moon, passing him... " [More about 'the Merlin.' A few oother refs., not in DB. One of the major settings of the novel is Avalon. The central character is Helena.]

Arthurian

United Kingdom

700 C.E.

Vance, Jack. Lyonesse: Madouc. Lancaster, PA: Underwood-Miller (1989)

[As the title should indicate, the novel exhibits significant Arthurian influence, but does not recapitulate any specifically Arthurian legends or use specifically Arthurian characters.]

Arthurian

United Kingdom

1358 C.E.

Dickson, Gordon R. The Dragon Knight. New York: Tor (1990); pg. 143.

"'Oh, come now,' said Jim. 'There've been good magicians.'

'Indeed!' put in Sir Brian, 'How about the mighty Merlin? And Carolinus?...' "

Pg. 40: "'How to explain? James, even you must have heard of King Arthur.'

'Heard of him?' said Jim, annoyed. 'I studied the Arthurian legend. He was either a myth or a series of myths which were originally thought to be Celtic, but which new evidence indicates may have migrated west with the Roman soldiery from as far as the steppes of South Russia, from the myths of an ancient people there, the Sarmatians--'

...'Nonsense, James,' he said. 'Never make statements you're not sure of. This century is a lot closer than your original one to the time when the actual King Arthur lived--and indeed was involved in many of the things that legend as him involved in, though not as quite such a heroic figure. He may not have been so bright with glory as young Prince Edward, when we rescued from Malvinne-' ";

Pg. 45: "'...Also, remember what I said: no one, including me, knows all the Old Magic. Merlin might have, but there's no one like him today...' "; Pg. 92: "'...and therefore the honor of singing before the Original Knights of the Table Round at time of war--to the effect that you, yourself, are of strength in magic; and that is the reason Morgan le Fay was so incensed against you. Also, you came here with another from the land above; but he is not with you now.' "; Pg. 93: "'--For example... there are those unskilled in magick, but with one magick talent. Recall how Gawain, having forced a fight with Sir Lancelot close to the time of our Great King's passing, made use of his gift of waxing in strength from morning to noon, to the strength of seven men; but Lancelot withstood him and won over him after the noontide.

Jim would have sworn that his memory of the King Arthur legends had been buried... since his earliest years of reading.... " [Many other refs., not in DB.]

"'...because the Lady of the Bright Knight--she has no other name, by the by--is tainted with magick, and therefore cannot wed in the eyes of the Holy Church. She was a damosel of Morgan le Fay; and won her freedom from service in some way only the two of them and Merlin might know. But, strange to say, there remained a kindness between her and Morgan; so that the Queen gave her this castle and lands.'

'Where does the Knight come in, then?'

'Later, they say, the Knight came by and the two fell in love; and the lady went back to Morgan le Fay and begged a protection for him. For now he would be defending the castle and her against all comers--else all would have called him a false knight. It was Morgan le Fay that gave the Knight the gift of such brightness as you will find to dazzle your eyes.' " [Other refs. to le Fay, not in DB, incl. pg. 105, 110, 113-116, etc.]

Pg. 116: "Jim's memory of the Arthurian legends had been coming back steadily as his time stretched out in Lyonesse. "; Pg. 118: "Then he remembered that there had been on apprentices mentioned--that he could remember, anyway--in the Arthurian legends. " [Many refs. throughout novel. Explicitly Arthurian elements are the main plot element of this novel.]

Arthurian

United Kingdom

1994

Holdstock, Robert. The Hollowing. New York: Roc (1994); pg. 15.

[Frontispiece] Pg. -2: Quote from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Pg. 15: "Green Knight's beheading, his magical return to life and subsequent challenge to Gawain, to meet a year later at the Green Chapel... the enchantress Morgan le Fay, disguised as Lady Bertolac... "; Pg. 87: Lancelot; Pg. 98: Excalibur; Lorelei; Pg. 145: King Arthur; Sir Lancelot [Other refs., not in DB.]

And now, when the world has changed, and Arthur--my brother, my lover, king who was and king who shall be-lies dead (the common folk say sleeping) in the Holy Isle of Avalon, the tale should be told as it was before the priests of the White Christ came to cover it all with their saints and legends. " [Many refs. throughout novel to Arthurian legend. The entire novel is essentially a recapitulation and expansion of the Arthurian tales, told from Morgaine La Fey's perspective. Only a few examples in DB.]

"If those at Arthur's court at Camelot chose to think me so when I came there [a nun] (since I always wore the dark robes of the Great Mother in her guise as wise-woman), I did not undeceive them. And indeed, toward the end of Arthur's reign it would have been dangerous to do so, and I bowed my head to expediency as my great mistress would never have done: Viviane, Lady of the Lake, once Arthur's greatest friend, save for myself, and then his darkest enemy--again, save for myself.

But the strife is over; I could greet Arthur at last, when he lay dying, not as my enemy and the enemy of my Goddess, but only as my brother, and as a dying man in need of the Mother's aid, where all men come at last. "

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